Where the Designers Dwell Home Tour
Presented by the Southern Arizona Chapter of the ASID
• TOUR INFORMATION
• Saturday, September 12, 2009
• 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 day of event
• Call 370-6007 or visit www.asidtucson.org for additional information.
• Proceeds benefit Ballet Tucson
• Purchase tickets at www.asidtucson.org or visit one of these ticket locations:
• Southwest Kitchen & Bath: 7780 N. Oracle Rd., Ste. 150
• Contents Interiors: 3401 E. Fort Lowell Rd.
• Sunset Interiors & Tubac Ranch: 3602 E. Fort Lowell Rd.
• Westar Kitchen, Bath & Lighting Gallery: 3850 W. Orange Grove Rd.
• Ballet Tucson 2009–2010 Schedule:
• Hunchback & Giselle, Act II, October 30-November 1
• The Nutcracker, December 24-27
• Dance & Dessert, March 12-14
• A Midsummer Night's Dream, May 15-16
*Season is subject to change, call ahead to confirm
You know you've done it—seen a beautifully decorated home and wondered whether the interior designer's own crib could possibly look that good. Now you can find out, by attending Where Designers Dwell, the ninth annual home tour sponsored by the Southern Arizona Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers and Sunset Interiors/Tubac Ranch.
On September 12, five of Tucson's top interior designers open their homes to the public—and make themselves available to chat—to benefit Ballet Tucson and the chapter's scholarship fund. The self-guided tour will take you inside five dramatically different homes, ranging from a "vanilla box" house transformed into a modern rustic home, to a Santa Barbara-style residence that provides a dramatic setting for the owners' collections of art and antiques.
All the homes share two characteristics. Their designer-owners followed the old adage that the three most important features when buying real estate are location, location, and location. Then each settled down to turning their prudent purchase into a home they wanted to live in.
Tom and Susan Lujan, Allied Member ASID
Susan and Tom Lujan's 2,800-square-foot Oro Valley home shows just how much a homeowner can do to upgrade a house without tearing down walls or building an expensive addition. The Lujans and their two kids moved to what Susan calls a "vanilla box" in Rancho Vistoso in 1998, seeing it as a good investment. Just four years ago, they decided this house was home, and to remodel rather than buy a pricier dwelling.
"Literally, we touched every surface in the house," Tom says. The couple replaced floors, doors, and plumbing, redid closets and the kitchen, bought new appliances, planted new landscaping front and back—and that's just the start. The result is a spacious-feeling family home in a style Susan calls "modern rustic." Classic contemporary pieces such as the Charles Eames lounge chair in the great room happily mix with such finds as a nearby antique carved horse "we just kind of fell in love with."
Susan adds, "There's really nothing in our house that screams 'don't touch me.' We wanted to allow our kids to have friends over and kick back and watch TV."
Liz Ryan, Allied Member ASID
After buying, fixing up, and selling innumerable properties during their 30-year marriage, Liz and Dave Ryan, along with their daughter, Sidney, knew what they wanted four years ago. They found their Skyline Country Club home on a great, but unimproved lot, where they could create outdoor living areas they had always dreamed of.
The two-level, 3,400-square-foot home with its spectacular views now draws the family of three and their guests through the house and outdoors, where gardens and a 50-foot saltwater pool await. Dramatic new staircases link the house with six new patios and balconies. "I've gutted homes over and over," Liz says from the dining area of the Mediterranean-style villa. "Where we put our time and money in this home was on the outdoor spaces." Except for a moderate facelift to the kitchen, custom built-ins, and a lot of paint—the features that originally endeared them to the home are stunning, such as the 100-year-old teak floors salvaged from a textile mill in Burma.
In the dining room, family heirlooms such as the three-panel carved screen have settled happily with furniture-market finds and custom pieces. "Don't be afraid of mixing styles," Liz says. "The bottom line is to make it inviting, so people will want to sit down and get comfortable."
William Parker, ASID & Larry Deutsch, ASID
Two years ago, a 180-degree city and mountain view attracted Bill Parker and Larry Deutsch to a 1982 masonry stucco home in the exclusive Cobblestone community off the northern tip of Campbell Avenue. Well, that plus the 900-square-foot great room seemingly built for the large parties the pair host while serving on various arts boards at The University of Arizona. "We love to entertain, and 75 to 100 people have fit into that room," Larry says.
The duo quickly banished the 1980s look—acres of carpeting and bleached-wood floors—installing beautiful (and easy to clean) 24-inch cross-cut Torreon travertine tiles and raising ceilings as they went. This past spring and summer, they gutted and replaced the kitchen.
But the two grandfathers are also passionate collectors who planned the interior to provide an attractive but neutral setting for displaying their many collections, including 18th-century furniture, vintage photographs, porcelains, and other beautiful things. "This is our 20th year together," Bill laughs. "And every home we've had has been white or off-white."
Kim Rasmussen, ASID
Rocks quarried high in the Himalayas inspired Kim and Scott Rasmussen when they undertook the most extensive remodel of any of the homes on this year's tour. In 2005 the couple bought, then completely gutted and rebuilt, a 1989 burnt adobe located near the intersection of River and Hacienda del Sol roads.
The Himalayan rocks became random slate tiles that form the floors throughout the 4,100-square-foot home and office, then creep outdoors to mix with other paving materials in a courtyard and entryway. Kim reports that fitting together the virtual jigsaw puzzle of the irregular tiles took four workers six weeks. But the result is worth it.
"The floor is really great. It's really great to live with—especially if you have dogs," Kim says. (Two golden retrievers also share the home.) "It's been easy to take care of, easy to maintain, and it makes a really nice palette for everything we have done in the rooms as far as paints, colors, textures...everything."
In the new kitchen, a soft gold on the walls and range hood picks up one of the dominant hues in the slate tiles, while custom alder cabinets bring out another. "It's truly a timeless design and color scheme," Kim says. "It is not something that is going to be dated to a particular era. It has a lifetime beyond what's current."
Lori Carroll, ASID
When Lori and John Carroll purchased a 4,000-square-foot lower Foothills house in 2002, they spent eight months remodeling the "dated Southwest" interior before moving their family of four. Their home now reflects Carroll's eclectic tastes while keeping its great location, privacy, and city views intact.
"We totally, completely remodeled it," Lori says. While much of the retooling was more cosmetic than structural, the couple incorporated an extra bedroom into the existing master suite. "It created a larger space, great storage in our bathroom, which I love, and a very nice-size bedroom incorporating the fireplace and the view," she explains.
Lori also moved the location of the master bed's headboard, giving the sleeping area a city view. Then she painted, carpeted, and furnished the room in a soft sage, incorporating pieces such as the chair and ottoman she had kept from a designer show house. "It's very soothing," she says. "I've been in that house for almost seven years now, and I love it. I wouldn't change anything about it."